Another great actor you may recognize by his appearance but hardly ever his name. In the non-Geek genre, he is best known as the honky-tonk band leader chasing Jake and Elwood in The Blues Brothers. This was amongst dozens of heavies he played on TV and numerous movies. Joe Bob Briggs interviewed him on Monstervision, or whatever the heck TNT called it in its waning days. When Blues came up in the discussion Napier mentioned how Belushi kept some distance out of fear, the former SNL star thought Napier was violent like his character Harry Sledge in Russ Meyer’s Supervixen. I would chalk that up to Belushi and Akroyd’s coke habits.
However, Charles has a huge place in my personal Hall of Geekdom. He had a guest appearance in the original Star Trek as a Twenty-third Century hippie named Adam (“The Way to Eden”) and as US General Denning circa 1947, for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (“Little Green Men”). He didn’t have a large forehead appliance in either!
The only program I ever followed with him as a regular cast member was The Critic. His Kentucky accent made Jay’s boss Duke Phillips one of the funniest supporting characters throughout the show’s brief run.
Duke: Dance for me Jay, it’s your contract!
Jay: No. My contract says I can prance.
Duke: (Searches through his desk’s file cabinet. Find’s the contract. Says regretfully.) Never sign anything after attending Gracie Slick’s birthday. (Duke’s signature is in a variety of colors and the i’s are dotted with peace symbols.)